“Nothing smaller than the 737 that got him to Newenham, would be my guess, Wy said, nodding. “Plus, Stanley Sacaloff was waiting for him on the other end.

Liam started to laugh. “He was auditing Stanley Sacaloff?

“That was his plan. He was pretty tight-lipped when I picked him up this morning, so I dont know how successful the audit was.

“Pretty successful, Liam pointed out, “if Stanley let him walk away from it. He slid a hand around her neck and kissed her. It started out to be a quick greeting and evolved into something more.

She pulled back with a flush in her cheeks. “Remember the uniform, she said, trying for casual and not succeeding very well.

“The hell with the uniform.

She stepped out of reach and tried to frown. “Behave. What are you doing out here, anyway?

His hands dropped and his smile faded. “I need a ride.

“Sure. Where to?

“Nenevok Creek.

“Oh. She was silent for a moment. “Did you talk to John and Teddy this morning?

“Yes. They said all they did was find the body.

“They didnt see Rebecca?

“They say not.

“She could have been scared. Running from the real killer. Maybe the same person who killed Opal Nunapitchuk.

“Maybe.

“You dont sound convinced.

“Im not, he said. “I know youve known them forever. I know you dont think they could kill anyone. But Wy, youve flown me out to incidents before. You know anyone can do anything, given the right motivation. They were on the scene. They had the weapon. They were drunk. And they have a history of harassing people in the area.

“But not killing them, she said quickly, repeating his own argument back to him.

“But not killing them, he agreed. “Anyway, alive or dead, weve got to find the wife. If shes alive, shes got to be terrified, maybe lost. Ive already talked to Search and Rescue out at Chinook Air Force Base. Theyve been quartering the area since dawn.

“Anything?

“Nothing, no sign of her, no smoke or flares. No signal of any kind. He didnt know how wilderness-savvy Rebecca Hanover was going to be, but even a beader from Anchorage ought to be able to follow a creek downstream. Trouble was, the killer would very probably be right behind her. If he wasnt locked up in the Newenham jail.

“Any sign she returned to the creek?

“No smoke from the stack, and she didnt come out to wave when the plane went over. They told me they made enough noise to make sure she would hear them.

No more bodies, Wy thought, I dont want to find any more bodies. “Do you think shes dead?

“That would be the most logical assumption, he admitted.

“But?

He gave a frustrated shake of his head. “I dont know, but I dont like the smell of this. Something about the mine site is itching at me. Something important I saw that didnt register. I want to go back and find out what it is. Are you available?